Field
The present specification generally relates to laminated glass sheets and, more specifically, to methods and apparatuses for producing laminated glass sheets by float processes.
Technical Background
Glass articles, such as cover glasses, glass backplanes and the like, are employed in both consumer and commercial electronic devices such as LCD and LED displays, computer monitors, automated teller machines (ATMs) and the like. Some of these glass articles may include “touch” functionality which necessitates that the glass article be contacted by various objects including a user's fingers and/or stylus devices and, as such, the glass must be sufficiently robust to endure regular contact without damage. The glass articles incorporated in these devices may be susceptible to damage during transport and/or use of the associated device. Accordingly, glass articles used in such devices may require enhanced strength to be able to withstand not only routine “touch” contact from actual use, but also incidental contact and impacts.
Various processes may be used to strengthen glass articles, including chemical tempering and thermal tempering. Chemical and thermal tempering processes may be used to strengthen a glass article after the article is formed, thereby requiring additional processing steps and handling of the glass article, both of which may result in damage to the glass article which increases production costs and decreases productivity, particularly for larger glass articles.
Accordingly, a need exists for alternative methods and apparatuses for forming strengthened glass sheets.